Under New Management
by Pvt. Caboose
Summary: Aizen's no longer in charge of Hueco Mundo, and the new guy is a lot more dangerous.  Can anyone defeat the Arrancar now that he's at the helm? Set midArrancar arc.
1. The Offer

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach. If I did I would own Bleach

This story is a lot more serious than my other one, so be warned. I had intended to write two Bleach fics, one very light-hearted and one that's way more serious. This is the serious one.

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He calmly walked down the dark hallway with a stern look on his face. He looked around at the colossal, white walls and the Arrancar who stopped whatever they were doing just to get a look at him, no doubt wondering how he had managed to get this far without any of them even noticing. A quick flash of his reiatsu brought them to their knees. They now knew he had more power than any of them could even dream of attaining, and a fight would be pointless.

He was not dressed as he normally would be, but that was of little consequence to him. He was comfortable in any form, including an expensive Italian tuxedo, dress pants, and dress shoes that looked like they had just been made yesterday. His tie was a standard red one; he really didn't like ties too much. In his hands was a large black briefcase. He was all business.

Finally he reached his destination. There, sitting on a large marble throne, was the man he had come to see. He could already tell this man was sizing him up, seeing if he was a potential threat. He looked harmless, with a healthy head of black hair, and a small goatee. In fact, he looked just like a typical high-powered American businessman, except, of course, for the two small horns sticking out of his forehead.

"Well now, you must be Sosuke Aizen," he said with a wicked smile on his face.

"Who are you?" the man on the throne replied.

"I have many names. That is not important. But what is important is I have come to make you an offer you can't refuse."

"Before I even listen to any offer you could possibly make me, I have a few questions for you."

"Go ahead."

"First of all, how did you get this far without me hearing anything?"

"I can take any form I please."

"A shape shifter, how interesting. Alright, what makes you think I'm even vaguely interested in anything you could offer me?"

"You'll understand that once the offer has been made. And try not to be too proud, I know from experience that that is a foolish thing to do."

"Fine, my final question, who are you?"

"I cannot reveal my identity without quite a bit of melodrama, and quite frankly I'm not in the mood."

"I will hear your offer."

"I'm offering to relieve you."

"What did you say?"

"I'm here to relieve you of command of this entire enterprise. Don't worry though, I could use you to keep the Arrancar loyal."

"I've had enough of this," nothing in Aizen's composure had changed, but anyone who knew him would say he was furious. "Grimmjow."

"Yes, Aizen-sama?"

"Kill this man, he bores me."

"As you command, Aizen-sama." Grimmjow leaped from the darkness, the cavernous room reverberating with his lust for battle as he cried out. He was about to land upon the man and mash his fist right into his freaky horned skull. That didn't work out very well.

Grimmjow felt a powerful hand squeeze his neck. He didn't know how, but he felt more pain than he should have. A horrible, debilitating, pain so intense that he had no choice but to cry out in agony, something he had never done before.

"Is this one of your precious Espada? How pathetic." The pain had stopped, and Grimmjow cautiously inched his other hand towards his zanpakutou.

"Oh, I'm afraid I can't have any of that." The horned man's hand had a tight grip on Grimmjow's wrist. Without showing the slightest of exertion he ripped Grimmjow's arm off and used it as a club. One hit sent him flying out of sight. Then he turned his attention to Aizen.

The horned man smirked and appeared next to Aizen, hand wrapped tightly around his throat. The horned man leaned in closer and whispered into Aizen's ear.

"Do you understand? Do you understand why you cannot refuse me?"

"Yes." This was a first, he was genuinely afraid for his life. His composure was gone. He had lost.

"Good. Now get out of my chair, you little brat!"

"Who are you?"

"Who am I?" the horned man was amused at this question, he even chuckled a little. "I thought that would be obvious by now. I'm the Devil."

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That's right, the Devil. And he has some interesting plans for Hueco Mundo and Aizen's Motley Crue. I hope you guys like it, and if you don't, I'd still like you to review. 


	2. Consolidation

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach. But it is nice to know I own Satan.

Well it took me a while to update this particular story, but i'm almost done with my other one so I can spend more time on this. Please review when you're finished.

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"So, who would like to challenge me?" His voice rang through the hall like a loud church bell. He had summoned everyone in front of him, to see if anyone wanted to dispute his new authority. The room was silent.

"Oh, come now," he continued, "Are you saying no one among you resents me in the slightest? Ulquiorra, you held Aizen in high regard, did you not? Perhaps you would like to avenge your beloved mentor?" At first the small Arrancar was silent, but the he spoke.

"If you can defeat Aizen-sama that easily, there is no point in challenging you. To you, I am trash."

"Don't put yourself down like that, You're very capable and will fit into both mine and Aizen's plans quite nicely."

"Shoot to kill, Shinsou." From a dark corner a blade flew toward Satan's head. He caught it, after which it began to shorten, and eventually Gin Ichimaru could be seen holding it, and although he was not screaming, it was obvious he was in an incredible amount of pain.

"Well, that was sneaky of you, Ichimaru. However I don't think it would have helped much. Are you done?" The silver-haired Shinigami nodded. Satan released his grip on the sword and both it and its wielder clattered to the floor.

"Now that that's taken care of, anyone else think they can beat me? No, well then you may all leave," the Arrancar began to walk out of the room "except for Kaname Tousen." The rest continued out the doors, but Tousen stood completely still, his hands were clenched tightly into fists, his head was bowed, but his back was turned to the one addressing him. He was furious.

"You should have spoken up, Kaname," Lucifer began, "I know that you desire perfect justice, and I'm more than certain you think I am the very antithesis of that noble goal. I assure you that is a lie. In fact, one might say that evil is the ultimate justice."

"You are lying."

"Am I? Well, look at it this way, without me, there would be no evil, but that still doesn't mean people themselves wouldn't be bad at heart. You cause enough of your own problems; you really don't need my help. Without me, the world would be full of Kurotsuchi Mayuris and Zaraki Kenpachis, people who have only gotten as far as they have for their own nefarious reasons and stay there because of their sadistic enjoyment of what they do. I take people like that out of the system, so only the truly good are left. Not only that, but evil is its own reward. You know what happens to human souls that fall short morally. They go to Hell. But that place is no more the true Hell than Souls Society is the true Heaven. All it does is purify souls so they can be reincarnated in the next life. In fact, compared to what we've got down in the Nine Circles, that Hell is like a bad amusement park ride. The interesting thing is that Shinigami souls go to that same Hell should they do evil, and at the end of time… well let's just say you'll crave oblivion. By calling those people to the dark side, they get the punishment they deserve, that is, perfect justice. Do you understand?"

"You can do nothing but lie; you must be silenced, in the name of perfect justice. BANKAI!"

The black tent enveloped the two, and Tousen charged his Adversary, full of fury and a terrible desire to kill. He swung his sword directly down. It hit his head. Then it cracked, and his hand began to bleed. Beelzebub grabbed Kaname's arm, and looked him right in the eye.

"Let me tell you a little secret. I take my work with me. Meaning I can release any of the Nine Circles of Hell on whomever I come in contact with. That would include you right about now. And since you were so unreceptive, I think the seventh circle would be appropriate. After all, I only used the first circle on Ichimaru and Grimmjow."

He only released it for a second, but it was more than enough. Kaname fell to the ground, writhing in pain. The tent disappeared, and Suzumushi lay motionless on the floor.

"Confine him," The Devil barked. Two Arrancar quickly picked up the fallen Shinigami and took him away. It had been a messy day's work, but if everything went as planned, it would all be worth it. There was Aizen, no doubt curious about the future. Well he would oblige him.

"What do you want, Aizen?" he asked in an irate tone.

"May I ask what you just did?"

"Of course, I consolidated my power over your little operation. Now that my subordinates realize a fight is useless, they will not attempt an uprising. Now that that is taken care of we can proceed with my actual plans."

"And just what are those?"

"You will find out soon enough, child."

"Why do you insist on calling me child? I think we both know that I'm—"

"When you turn fifteen billion five hundred sixty two million nine hundred thirty four thousand two hundred twenty one you can call anyone child."

"Why do you need us though?"

"I have to explain everything to you don't I? There are three types of beings, four if you count Him. Each one has specific strengths and weaknesses when compared to the other. First you have physical beings, the humans, who you might say are at the bottom of the totem pole. Then you have the spirit beings, which are the Shinigami, Hollows, and everything in between. You can directly affect the physical world but none of you even hold a candle to us ethereal beings, the angels and demons. However _He_ decided that we should not be allowed to directly affect the real world without his expressed permission. So I needed something I could easily control capable of having a huge effect the human world. You and your organization were the perfect for the job. Plus, I like you Aizen, you remind me of myself."

"So what now?"

"Now we get down to business. Go tell Yami he and some other Arrancar can go stuff themselves in the human world. I've heard Dakar is lovely this time of year.

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Hope you liked it. Now review. 


	3. The First Step

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach. If I did Optimus Prime would guest star

Well here's the next chapter, sorry it took so long, but you can tell me all about it in a review. Enjoy

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Hitsugaya was worried. Everything had been quiet in Karakura, far too quiet someone with an Army of Arrancar at his disposal. His suspicions proved correct when he heard Yamamoto wanted to talk to him, that it was a matter of the utmost importance. He and Matsumoto stood in front of the large screen through which the commander addressed them, he knew something was wrong.

The screen immediately flickered to life, and the image of the old man began to speak in a voice much graver than usual.

"Hitsugaya-taichou, as you are no doubt aware, Sosuke Aizen and his troops have been unusually quiet of late. That is no longer the case. Everyone within one mile of the city of Dakar has been killed."

"What makes you think that this has anything to do with the Arrancar?" He couldn't help but ask. It was true that this was a terrible tragedy, but he needed to know why it was his concern.

"Before they disappeared, our scouts reported that the cause of death was an Arrancar technique called Gonzui, one that immediately sucks the soul out of the victim. Also, the Shinigami on duty there were almost immediately killed."

"But what's so special about Dakar, why is Aizen even remotely interested in it?"

"We don't know. However, that is what you must find out. I want you to go to Dakar and investigate. But if things get out of hand, I want you to leave immediately. Do you understand."

"Yes, Commander."

"End transmission." The screen flickered off and Hitsugaya looked up at his lieutenant. This was serious. It was also completely out of character. Aizen was a cold, calculating, remorseless person. He never made a move unless he was sure it would be successful, and he never wasted time on unnecessary actions once he was ready to attack. Hitsugaya himself thought it was just some renegade Arrancar, but either way it meant a lot of trouble for Soul Society.

"Taichou, we should go."

"Sorry, I must have drifted off there for a second. C'mon, we'll head back to Souls Society and go through the gate. That's the quickest way."

* * *

Hitsugaya was right of course. If they had stayed in the real world, there were no means available to human or Shinigami that could get them to Dakar fast enough. However, they did not know what they would see when the stepped through, and certainly weren't prepared for what they did. 

Matsumoto was far worse at hiding her shock than her captain.

"Taichou, they're all dead. Just bodies, lying everywhere. The buildings are fine, but everyone is dead."

"Rangiku Matsumoto you have a keen grasp of the obvious." The scent of sulfur filled the air. Both Rangiku and Toushirou immediately turned their heads, and were amazed to see who was speaking.

His business suit was completely untarnished, and as he leaned against a nearby building with his arms folded and a wicked smile on his face, they could see the sheer twisted joy that resided within him.

"Who are you? Did you do this?" Hitsugaya asked with his hand on his hilt

"You might say that. But personally I think the credit goes to my Arrancar."

"_Your _Arrancar?"

"Well of course. You didn't think Aizen could hold on to something that powerful, did you?"

"What?"  
"Well to be perfectly honest he's a fool with absolutely no experience at this kind of thing. It was only a matter of time before someone like me came along and just took the whole thing off his hands."

"So why did you kill all these people? What was the point?"

"Why my dear boy, I just wanted to get a good look at you. Of course _they_ want to kill you." No sooner had he said this than five Arrancar appeared out of a portal with their Zanpakuto drawn.

"Well I have to get going, I'm done here and I have much more to do. Enjoy the fight you two, if you're lucky it won't be your last." With that he disappeared with a loud crack and once again the air smelled like sulfur.

* * *

The first Arrancar charged Hitsugaya slicing at him but clearly missing. It didn't take long for the small captain to deliver a fatal blow. The Arrancar's form was terrible, but the second and third ones fought incredibly well. The forth and fifth had focused their attention on Matsumoto, who had already released her shikai. The Arrancar instantly followed up with their own releases. This was going to be a hell of a fight. 

"Bankai!" he shouted. He could feel the ice around him and he knew he was in his element. The second Arrancar was now long and spindly, it would be difficult to take him out quickly, so he turned his attention to the third Arrancar, who was now a squat, slow-moving creature with multiple cannon barrels sticking out of him. it fired multiple blast at Hitsugaya, who dodged most of them with ease. Most of them.

One blast hit his arm, singing it ad causing him to cry out in pain, but not distracting him from his objective. He fired several ice blasts at the Arrancar, who fired and successfully stopped them all in their tracks. Exactly as he had planned. Hitsugaya had managed to shunpo to onto his back and plunged Hyourinmaru into it. Ice covered the Arrancar and Hitsugaya moved on to his next target.

The tall spindly one was moving pretty quickly, he would have to use that against him. He began to chase him, firing shot after shot at the Arrancar, who dodged them all with ease.

"You missed!" jeered the Arrancar.

"Did I?" just then the second Arrancar crashed into an ice wall the blasts had formed, giving Hitsugaya time to deliver the final blow. Now he would help Matsumoto.

She had killed one of them, but the other was tearing her apart. She was so tired she could hardly defend herself from his attacks. This Arrancar was a giant, and he had a huge club which had actually managed to crack Haineko, which Rangiku had recalled for defense. The giant saw Hitsugaya and sent him flying into a nearby building. He raised his club over Matsumoto and was this close to squashing her like a bug. In a last ditch effort, Hitsugaya fired blast after blast of ice at the giant Arrancar, and he was enveloped by the dragon shaped attacks and fell over. Hitsugaya followed suit. The time limit on his bankai was up, and he was ready to pass out. He only had enough energy to ask Soul Society for medical assistance, and then everything went dark.

* * *

"Jidanbou! Open the gate!" The massive guard just stood there puzzled. 

"Hitsugaya-taichou, I thought you were in the world of the living."

"Well I'm back, so open the gate, I have something incredibly important to tell the commander. Trust me; this is something I have to tell him in person. Now are you going to stand there like an idiot or are you going to open the gate?!"

"Of course, of course, taichou. Hold on." The titan's muscles bulged as he lifted the massive gate. Finally the smaller of the two passed under, and Jidanbou let go of the gate.

As soon as the gate crashed closed behind him, Satan reverted back to his original form and smiled.

"Dumbass."

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So I hope you guys liked it. please review. 


	4. Surprise Attack

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach. I also do not own Satan, but I don't think he minds the attention

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As Satan strolled through the streets of Seireitei, he wondered how long it would be before he was detected. He released enough of his reiatsu to crush the buildings around him, but no one dared to approach. Finally tired of waiting, he decided to go somewhere where the fight would come to him.

The eleventh squad was always ready for a fight, and as Satan appeared in front of them they immediately drew their swords.

"I'm a ryoka," he calmly told them. "Would any of you like to try and kill me?" Most of them ran right for him, not noticing how hard it was to breathe. Their deaths were swift. All the Dark Lord had to do was crush them with his reiatsu, and once he had done that, it wouldn't be long before the captain arrived.

Sure enough Zaraki Kenpachi came flying down with his zanpakutou held high over his head, roaring like a maniac as he descended upon his suspecting victim. He quickly side stepped and let Zaraki land, and then the two turned to face each other.

"Well you can dodge, but can you fight?" Kenpachi asked.

"Unfortunately for you you're about to find out."

"You talk to big to be a good warrior. Tell you what," Zaraki said as he opened his shirt. "I'm going to let you strike first." Before Satan spoke he let out a sigh.

"Very well, but you're going to regret that decision." He calmly walked up to Zaraki Kenpachi, punched a hole in his stomach, and smacked him through several buildings. He toyed with the eleventh division a bit more, went off to slaughter a leaderless tenth, then proceeded to his favorite division of all, the twelfth.

The twelfth division was not Satan's favorite because it supported science, because science was a force that could be used for good as well as evil. It was because it was home to his favorite resident of Soul Society, the one that was in fact stalking him right now.

"Show yourself. I know you're there so there's really no point in hiding."

"How did you know? I completely masked my reiatsu."

"Wherever there is sin or depravity, I am there."

"Are you calling me depraved?" the head of R&D shot back. "Do you have any idea who I am? I am Kurotsuchi Mayuri, captain of the twelfth squad and head of research and development!"

"Pleased to meet you. Won't you guess my name?"

"No I will not! I want to know what you are doing here and why. And you're going to tell me."

"But what's puzzling you is the nature of my game."

"And why the hell are you speaking in rhymes?"

"Because torturing you is fun. However, I will answer some of you're questions. My name is Satan, I am the third most powerful being in the universe, I am the source of all evil, I am here to destroy Soul Society, and my favorite flavor of ice cream is Cherry Garcia."

"I must admit I have never seen anything like you before. Would you mind being my test subject? I always treat them very well."

"I think we both know that's a lie. Remember that time when you were raping Nemu and you used one of your subjects to—"

"Where did you here about that?!"

"Who do you think puts those ideas in your head, The Easter Bunny? Anyway I'm sorry about this but I'm going to have to incapacitate you and most likely severely injure you if I want my plan to succeed so would you mind holding still?"

"Rip, Ashisogi Jizo!" Kurotsuchi Mayuri charged at him and stabbed him through his shoulder, or rather tried to. But the blade only pierced his clothing, and Satan smiled at him.

"You know I really like your zanpakutou, its abilities are so sadistic it fits you perfectly. But it does have one serious flaw though. It only works if the blade can get through the reiatsu your opponent leaks unconsciously, and I am too powerful for that to happen. That being said, I'm going to rip all your limbs off now." After doing exactly as he said and giving Nemu a severe beating, he killed most of the captain-less squads and decimated the fourth. But he really was getting tired of this. So he headed off in the direction of the first squad's headquarters. He was more than a little surprised when he saw Soifon, Kyouraku Shunsui, Ukitake Jyuushirou, Kommamura Sajin, and Kuchiki Byakuya blocking the entrance.

"So I take it defending the old man is top priority now. Well that's no shock; Shinigami Society never was about the little guy."

"Are you here to talk or to fight?" Soifon was obviously the least patient.

"I'm here to achieve my objective, something far beyond the understanding of little girls like you." Soifon lunged forward only to be quickly thrown aside. She crashed through wall after wall and vanished somewhere in the distance. Ukitake and Kyouraku were the next to respond while Kommamura and Byakuya released their bankai. Satan punched Kyouraku out of the way, roundhouse kicked Ukitake, and flipped Kommamuras sword so it was facing him, and plunged it into his body while the big fox still had a grip on it. Now all that was left was Byakuya.

"You have to know you can't win."

"Anyone who wishes to destroy Soul Society must themselves be destroyed."

"Do you ever stop being serious? It won't matter, you'll join Hisana soon enough."

"How dare you mention her." At this point Byakuya was furious. Not that it mattered, though. He only lived about three more seconds before Satan snapped his neck. _Finally,_ Satan thought. Chojiro was no challenge, and it wasn't hard to locate Yamamoto.

"Do you know who I am, old man?" he asked curiously as he approached the aged figure staring out at Seireitei.

"You are far older than I am, I don't think you have the right to call me that."

"Well if you know that much than you should I don't care about rights. He didn't give me any."

"You're going to complain about that for all eternity, aren't you?"

"It isn't fair! I was His second in command; I sat at His right hand! They followed Him because they had to; they followed me because they wanted to. I deserve that position, not Him. That Old Fool is too trusting; He has no idea how to govern the universe!"

"But you do?"

"Of course I do!" his voice was far deeper now, his skin a bright red, he was losing his composure. He regained it quickly and stared stoically at Yamamoto.

"Sometimes I get off track. But that is not important. What is important is that you know who I am and that there is no way you are going to survive."

"I don't think it will come to that."

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Well I hope you guys liked it, if not a review would still be appreciated. 


	5. Step Two

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach. If I did someone would accidently kill Tom Cruise.

Sorry guys. School is starting so It's taking longer to write chapters. Please be patient. Hope you like the chapter!

* * *

Yamamoto drew his zanpakutou quickly, wasting no time releasing it. The Devil looked at him like he was crazy, but then he just shrugged his shoulders and let out a sigh.

"You've got to be kidding me," he said. "How did an idiot like you ever become commander? You are fully aware of who and what I am, yet here you stand with your sword drawn, ready to fight a battle you can only lose. Care explaining the logic behind that?" Yamamoto stood there silently, a grim look on his face.

"Of course not," he continued, "You're cornered, trapped like a rat. No one takes logic into consideration in these kinds of situations. It doesn't matter, I was going to kill you anyway. Someone like you would be more dangerous if he didn't have to worry about commanding troops. If you really tried you might be able to kill some of the Espada. That wouldn't be good for my plans, now would it?"

"Why are you using the Arrancar? What need could you possibly have for them?"

"Oh they make a good distraction. I also want what Aizen wants, well part of it anyway."

"You want to reenter True Heaven."

"Very good."

"But that would mean…"

"I know exactly what that would mean. That's why I'm doing it. Now are we going to play twenty questions or are we going to fight?" The commander shot several jets of flame at his opponent with all the grace of an accomplished master. They were brushed away effortlessly. Yamamoto continued to fire larger and larger blasts at the Enemy, who reacted exactly as he did when the old man had started, and with the same results.

"Can't you do any better?" Satan asked half mockingly.

"As a matter of fact I can." Yamamoto replied. He charged at his enemy, his blade held at his side. Satan just stood there, not making a move. For all he cared, Yamamoto could have focused all of his reiatsu into the blade of his zanpakutou in a last ditch effort to kill him. His victory was so assured he really didn't care that was actually what was happening.

The old man roared as he plunged the blade into his enemy's stomach. It pierced the skin and continued on until it shot out his back. Satan gasped, in utter shock that anyone short of Michael could pull this off. This looked like a victory for Yamamoto in every possible way. It wasn't though. Even though his opponent's zanpakutou was sticking out of his back, The Devil was smiling and laughing.

"Well," he said, finally able to choke back his laughter, "A lot of people have tried, but you came the closest. I find it so fascinating that people think they can kill me. I mean I am the _incarnation_ of evil. You can't kill evil. You can defeat it sometimes, but no one but The Man Upstairs is capable of killing it, and as far as I know that's not on His to do list. So, what should I do about you?" The Lord of Flies wasted no time in pulling the sword out of his body, and sending Yamamoto flying with a light kick. He strolled over to have a good look at the old man before he sent him back to The World of the Living. He knew from experience that no one should live more than two thousand years.

"Please, without the Shinigami, all order will be lost. The universe itself will fall into chaos. Please, don't do this." Yamamoto was pleading with him.

"Are you trying to appeal to my conscience? Are you really that stupid? I am evil itself, why the hell would I have a conscience? Besides, when I'm done, there will be no need for the Shinigami." He was about to deal the finishing blow, but then he felt it.

The feeling had nothing to do with killer intent, as one it came from only fought on orders and hadn't killed anything for a couple thousand years. It also had nothing to do with his reiatsu levels, even though they were ridiculously high. It certainly didn't come from his fear, because no one in his position would be afraid of anything. It was more of an understanding. Satan understood that he would soon have to deal with his old adversary. _Shit_, he thought.

"Well, looks like you got lucky today." He told the commander sweetly, and then disappeared with a loud crack.

* * *

"Where were you?" Aizen asked as his new master appeared back in Hueco Mundo. He now saw something on his face that he had never seen before. It was worry.

"If you must know I was getting rid of Soul Society. They shouldn't bother us anymore." Although he didn't show it, this came as a shock to Aizen. He knew Satan was powerful, but was he actually capable of doing something like that? Of course he was. If he could bring Aizen and the Arrancar to their knees that quickly he was more than able to take on Soul Society and win.

"That was your plan from the start, wasn't it? You had Yami attack that city to draw the attention of the child, letting you use his form giving you a legitimate reason for being there. After that you just kill everyone and leave."

"That was only the first part. Now we will make Peter's Key."

"Peter's Key?" Aizen asked, masking his confusion.

"The King's Key, Peter's Key, whatever you want to call it. The thing that lets you get into Heaven. From here on you can execute your plan. I'll just be here for direction and support."

"So the plan is now…"

"Your plan. This is a lot of responsibility, kid, don't screw it up."

* * *

Hitsugaya was incredibly lucky. So was seventh seat Yamada Hanatarou. He had been sent to Dakar to heal the wounded captain and busty lieutenant, just barely missing The Devil's attack. It had taken a while, but he managed to ensure a full recovery for both of them. Finally Hitsugaya was able to speak.

"What happened?"

"Y-you called for emergency medical assistance," Hanatarou stated in a quivering voice, "and here I am." Suddenly it all came to the tiny captain in a flash.

"We have to get back to Soul Society, now!" He shouted. He tried to rise, but stopped once he felt excruciating pain.

"You need to rest." Hanatarou said. "Just for another hour or two."

Three hours later they headed back to Soul Society. They couldn't believe what they saw. Annihilation was putting it mildly. Most buildings were little more than rubble, dead bodies were everywhere, and in some areas fire had consumed everything. Matsumoto was the first to really mention it.

"Taichou, how do you think the commander is holding up?" A look of concern spread across his face and he immediately went began to shunpo in the direction of the first division headquarters. When he got there he saw a broken and beaten Yamamoto, something he never thought he'd see.

"What happened?" He asked. The old man raised his head slowly and stared at him.

"The beginning of the end. Hitsugaya taichou, we have much to discuss."

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Okay, you know what to do. Hit that review button right now. 


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